As the profession’s largest and oldest professional membership organization for design—with 75 chapters, dozens of student groups, new interest groups, and more than 20,000 members—AIGA advances design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force. AIGA works across all disciplines to enhance the value and deepen the impact of design on business, society, and our collective future.

From design fans to the profession’s leading practitioners, AIGA members come from all backgrounds, all fields, and all levels of experience—from all around the world. Whether you’re a design enthusiast, student, freelance designer, in-house designer, design educator, design strategist, or a business owner, AIGA is here to welcome you into the wider world of design.

AIGA has exclusively retained Nonprofit HR to assist in the recruitment efforts for its next Executive Director. The position of Executive Director is a critical and visible position requiring strong business (financial, operations) and development experience. The Executive Director reports to the Board of Directors and is responsible for the overall strategic direction, leadership, and day-to-day operations of the association to include advocacy, public relations, as well as community-focused and mission-aligned program development. The Executive Director works collaboratively with the Board of Directors to execute a highly strategic vision and facilitate relationships with key stakeholders including but not limited to chapter and community leaders, corporations, and the media.

The Executive Director must be a visionary leader and be able to guide and facilitate resource development, access to capital, and other initiatives to enhance and sustain the association’s financial goals and mission-driven opportunities. The Executive Director will skillfully navigate the organization through transformational operational restructuring driven by a new vision for community engagement and fiscal sustainability.

The Executive Director must have broad management experience in a non-profit, affiliate-based organization, government, or business setting, including program and project development, implementation, and evaluation; short- and long-term strategic planning; and budgetary oversight. The selected candidate must have exceptional leadership presence and experience speaking in service to a diverse community, with demonstrated ability to increase and leverage organizational visibility, credibility, and brand recognition through the media and other public relations sources.

Internally, the Executive Director must develop, lead, attract, inspire, retain, and manage a diverse, talented, and high-performing team, to ensure that the mission and core values of AIGA are put into practice by holding everyone accountable for quantifiable high-quality, timely, and cost-effective results. Team building is key. Beyond guiding the staff in their respective areas of functional expertise, the executive must foster a shared vision for the important work it must do—making the most of the staff's collective talent in support of organization-wide success. In an environment that is collegial and where talent and culture are critical, the Executive Director will need to engage staff, contractors, the membership, and the Board of Directors in strategic operations and execution through responsive and transparent communication and leadership.

The ideal candidate will have a master’s degree or extended experience in a relevant discipline along with a CAE certification. The successful candidate will possess, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree and 10 years of management experience of which at least five years include experience in executive operations and leading a business that has demonstrated growth and profitability.

The Executive Director must also have a passion for AIGA’s Mission, Vision, and work. They must have experience creating and maintaining an organizational culture that attracts, motivates, and retains a diverse, talented staff and partners to blend skill sets, meet objectives, and provide efficient program execution. The Executive Director must have demonstrated capacity to work thoughtfully and effectively with volunteers, consultants, staff, and populations with diverse experiences and identities. The ideal candidate has experience managing a national organization with a thriving local chapter network and has proven success developing and keeping a remote workforce engaged.

As the country’s leading full-service human resources firm focused exclusively on the nonprofit sector, we understand the unique needs of mission-driven organizations like no one else.
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